Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Encyclopedia
Raidió Teilifís Éireann (ˈradʲo ˈtʲɛlʲəfʲiːʃ ˈeːrʲən; Radio [and] Television of Ireland; abbreviated as RTÉ) is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...

 of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 and the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making it one of the oldest continuously operating public service broadcasters in the world.

RTÉ is financed through two mediums; firstly the television licence fee and secondly through advertising. Some RTÉ services are only funded through advertising, while other RTÉ services are only fund through the licence fee. RTÉ is a statutory body run by a board appointed by the Government of Ireland. General management of the organisation is in the hands of the Executive Board
RTÉ Executive
The RTÉ Executive Board is a committee composed of the senior management of the Irish public service broadcaster, Raidió Teilifís Éireann, responsible for the day-to-day running of the broadcaster.-Composition:...

 headed by the Director-General, while RTÉ is regulated by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland was established on 1 October 2009 effectively replacing the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland ....

. Radio Éireann, RTÉ's predecessor and at the time a section of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, was one of 23 founding organisations of the European Broadcasting Union
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union is a confederation of 74 broadcasting organisations from 56 countries, and 49 associate broadcasters from a further 25...

 in 1950.

History

This section deals with the history of RTÉ as an organisation. For details on this history of the various services see the separate articles on these services. For history on the broadcasting service prior to 1960, see Minister for Posts and Telegraphs
Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (Ireland)
The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs was a senior post in the government of the Irish Free State and the Republic of Ireland from 1924 to 1984, when the post and the department was abolished....

 and RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 is the principal radio channel of Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926...

.

Establishment and name

Broadcasting in Ireland began in 1926 with 2RN
2RN
2RN was the first radio broadcasting station in the Irish Free State. It began broadcasting on 1 January 1926 and continued until 1933, when it was succeeded by Radio Athlone...

 in Dublin. From that date until June 1960 the broadcasting service (2RN, later Radio Éireann) operated as a section of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, and those working for the service were directly employed by the Irish Government
Irish Government
The Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...

 and regarded as civil servants
Civil service of the Republic of Ireland
The Civil Service of Ireland is the collective term for the permanent staff of the Departments of State and certain State Agencies who advise and work for the Government of Ireland. It consists of two broad components, the Civil Service of the Government and the Civil Service of the State...

.

In 1960, RTÉ was established (as Radio Éireann) under the Broadcasting Authority Act 1960, the principal legislation under which it operates. The name was adopted at the suggestion of Áine Ní Cheanainn
Áine Ní Cheanainn
Áine Ní Cheanainn, headmistress and co-founder of Cumann Scannán na nÓg, 1907-1999.Ní Cheanainn was born in Derryvea, Kiltimagh, County Mayo, daughter of a shopkeeper. She was taught locally before attending Carysfort Training College from 1925 to 1927, graduating with a qualification for primary...

. The existing Radio Éireann service was transferred to the new authority, which was also to make provision for the new television service (Telefís Éireann) which opened on December 31, 1961, from the Kippure
Kippure
Kippure is a granite mountain that straddles the county boundaries of South Dublin and Wicklow. It is popular for hill walking and outdoor leisure activity owing to its proximity to Dublin city, with its fine views over Dublin Bay towards Howth Head. It has convenient access and easy terrain...

 transmitter site near Dublin. Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews, CBE , was an Irish television presenter based in the United Kingdom.-Life and career:...

 was the first Chairman of Radio Éireann, the first director general was Edward Roth. The name of the authority was changed to Radio Telefís Éireann under the Broadcasting Authority (Amendment) Act 1966, and both the radio and television services became known as RTÉ in that year.

The Broadcasting Act 2009 (Section 113) changed the name of the organisation from "Radio Telefís Éireann" to "Raidió Teilifís Éireann", in order to reflect the 'proper' spelling of the name in Irish. However, the station retains "Radio Telefís Éireann" carved in stone at the entrance to its Donnybrook headquarters in Dublin.

Broadcasting ban

Under Section 31 of the Broadcasting Authority Act, 1960 the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs of the day could direct RTÉ "not to broadcast any matter, or any matter of any particular class". In 1971, the first such directive was issued by Gerry Collins, directing RTÉ not to broadcast "any matter that could be calculated to promote the aims or activities of any organisation which engages in, promotes, encourages or advocates the attaining of any particular objectives by violent means". Following this, Collins dismissed the entire RTÉ Authority over an interview with an (unidentified on-air) source who was the chief of staff of the Provisional IRA. Some RTÉ staff members strongly supported the operation of Section 31, particularly those involved in programme making, including Eoghan Harris
Eoghan Harris
Eoghan Harris is an Irish journalist, fiction writer, director, columnist and politician. He currently writes for the Sunday Independent. He was a member of Seanad Éireann from 2007–11, having been nominated by the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern....

 (known for his involvement with the break-away Official IRA
Official IRA
The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA is an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to create a "32-county workers' republic" in Ireland. It emerged from a split in the Irish Republican Army in December 1969, shortly after the beginning of "The Troubles"...

, then on ceasefire) and Gerry Gregg.

In 1977, Minister Conor Cruise O'Brien
Conor Cruise O'Brien
Conor Cruise O'Brien often nicknamed "The Cruiser", was an Irish politician, writer, historian and academic. Although his opinion on the role of Britain in Northern Ireland changed over the course of the 1970s and 1980s, he always acknowledge values of, as he saw, the two irreconcilable traditions...

, issued a new directive in the form of the Broadcasting Authority Act, 1960 (Section 31) Order, 1977. RTÉ was now explicitly banned from broadcasting statements by spokespersons of Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

, the Provisional IRA, or any other terrorist organisation banned in Northern Ireland by the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

. These directives were generally reissued on an annual basis until the final one of 1993.

The effect of this ban was greater than the one introduced over 10 years later in the United Kingdom. In the UK case, the ban could be easily circumvented using actors' voices; this was not permissible on RTÉ. The ban did not, however, affect UK stations broadcasting in the Republic as, until 1988 at least, viewers in the Republic were still able to hear the voices of democratically elected Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...

 representatives.

Income and expenditure

RTÉ receives income from two main sources:
  • The television licence fee. Within the State, it is necessary to pay a fee of €160 per annum in order to legally possess any piece of equipment capable of receiving television signals (not necessarily those of RTÉ). This money is collected by An Post
    An Post
    An Post is the State-owned provider of postal services in the Republic of Ireland. An Post provides a universal postal service to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union...

     on behalf of the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. The state pays for TV Licence Inspectors who have the power to obtain and execute search warrants of private houses. Failure to possess a valid television licence can result in a fine and a criminal record.
  • Commercial Revenue including the sale of advertising
    Advertising
    Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...

     and sponsorship. In the early 1990s Minister Ray Burke imposed commercial revenue quotas to limit the amount of revenue that RTÉ could procure through advertising, in view of the corporation's licence fee income, however such quotas were later removed however RTÉ Radio and Television is still limited to 6mins of advertising per hour. The commercial division also owned 0.086% of the Intelsat
    Intelsat
    Intelsat, Ltd. is a communications satellite services provider.Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization , it was—from 1964 to 2001—an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international broadcast...

     satellite firm, which they sold in 2005.


Even though the commercial quotas have been removed these two sources are still approximately split in a 50:50 ratio. The licence fee does not fund RTÉ 2fm
RTÉ 2fm
RTÉ 2fm, or 2FM as it is more commonly referred to, is Raidió Teilifís Éireann's second national radio station. It broadcasts popular music programming aimed at a young Irish audience.- History :...

, RTÉ Aertel
RTÉ Aertel
RTÉ Aertel is a teletext service broadcast on RTÉ One and RTÉ Two in the Republic of Ireland, and also available in its entirety on the Internet....

, RTÉ Guide
RTÉ Guide
The RTÉ Guide is a television and radio listings magazine in Ireland published by RTÉ Commercial Enterprises Ltd, a subsidiary of Raidió Teilifís Éireann....

 or the website RTÉ.ie
Rte.ie
RTÉ.ie is the brand name and home of RTÉ's online activities, located at the URL http://rte.ie. The site began publishing on 26 May 1996. According to RTÉ, it operates on an entirely commercial basis, receiving none of the licence fee which funds much of RTÉ's activity. The site, it says, is funded...

, however each of these brands are indirectly funded by the licence fee through the use of content that is funded by the licence fee, such as News and Current Affairs.

Breakdown of the Licence Fee

Breakdown of the TV Licence
Use 2010 2009 2008
RTÉ One
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...

 
61.03 62.00 59.35
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...

 
36.20 31.57 34.09
RTÉ Television
RTÉ Television
RTÉ Television is a department of Ireland's state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann.The first channel to broadcast was Telefís Éireann which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961...

 Total
97.23 93.56 93.44
RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1
RTÉ Radio 1 is the principal radio channel of Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926...

 
13.08 16.70 14.24
RTÉ 2fm
RTÉ 2fm
RTÉ 2fm, or 2FM as it is more commonly referred to, is Raidió Teilifís Éireann's second national radio station. It broadcasts popular music programming aimed at a young Irish audience.- History :...

 
0.00 0.00 0.00
RTÉ RnaG
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta , abbreviated RnaG, is the Irish-language radio service of the public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. The station is available on FM in Ireland and via satellite and on the Internet.- History :...

 
8.50 9.06 10.73
RTÉ Lyric FM
RTÉ lyric fm
RTÉ lyric fm is an Irish classical music radio station, owned by the public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. The station, which is based in Limerick, was launched in 1999 and is available on FM in Ireland, on satellite, on Sky Digital in Ireland and United Kingdom and via the...

 
5.05 5.24 5.78
RTÉ Radio
RTÉ Radio
RTÉ Radio is a department of Irish national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Radio broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels....

 Total
26.63 31.00 30.75
RTÉ Performing Groups
RTÉ Performing Groups
RTÉ Performing Groups is a group of five classical ensembles, part of the Irish broadcaster RTÉ. All but the Vanbrugh Quartet are based in Dublin .- RTÉ Performing Groups :...

 
9.07 9.48 11.02
RTÉ Total 132.93 134.05 135.21
RTÉ Support to TG4
TG4
TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....

 
6.36 7.50 7.89
BAI
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland was established on 1 October 2009 effectively replacing the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland ....

 Levy
1.04 0.63 0.00
BAI Sound and Vision Fund 10.57 8.45 7.53
An Post
An Post
An Post is the State-owned provider of postal services in the Republic of Ireland. An Post provides a universal postal service to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union...

 Collection Costs
9.10 9.37 9.37
Total Non-RTÉ Costs 27.07 25.95 24.79
Total Cost 160.00 160.00 160.00

RTÉ Personality Salaries

RTÉ's Director General in October 2009 said there was “no question that by today’s standards” the salaries paid to its top presenters in 2008 “were excessive. I have to repeat that they were set at a different time in a different competitive reality where some of this talent might be up for poaching by other organisations and in RTÉ’s view at the time, they delivered value for money ”. Fine Gael
Fine Gael
Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...

 said the high salaries were "rubbing salt in the wounds" for people who had lost their jobs or taken significant pay cuts. Labour criticised RTÉ for not releasing the data sooner and said "This information should be easily available and there should be no question of concealing it or making it in any way inaccessible ". Many of the highest-paid stars, are not technically members of staff but are paid through separate companies, enabling them and the station to avoid paying tax on their salaries.

Organisation

RTÉ Board and Executive Board

RTÉ is a statutory corporation. Under its original governance arrangements (under the Broadcasting Authority Act 1960) its board was known as the RTÉ Authority. The members of the RTÉ Authority were appointed by the Cabinet upon the recommendation of the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. The RTÉ Authority was both the legal owner of RTÉ (under the 1960 Act, it was RTÉ) and was also its regulator.

Under the Broadcasting Act 2009, RTÉ's governance arrangements have changed. The statutory corporation form has been retained, however the new Act no longer refers to the board of RTÉ as an "Authority" and it is now simply known as the Board. Of the new 12 member Board replacing the RTÉ Authority: the Minister will appoint 6 members, the Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources will decide on 4 names to present to the Minister for appointment, 1 member will be elected by the staff of RTÉ and the Director-General will sit on the Board in an ex-officio capacity. The current RTÉ Authority members have been reappointed to the new Board in the interim. The provisions of the Act relating to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland were commenced on October 1, 2009(underStatutory Instrument
Statutory Instrument
A Statutory Instrument is the principal form in which delegated or secondary legislation is made in Great Britain.Statutory Instruments are governed by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946. They replaced Statutory Rules and Orders, made under the Rules Publication Act 1893, in 1948.Most delegated...

389 of 2009 of the Broadcasting Act 2009), RTÉ will be externally regulated by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland was established on 1 October 2009 effectively replacing the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland ....

.

The RTÉ organisation is divided into six integrated business divisions (termed "IBDs" within RTÉ): RTÉ Television
RTÉ Television
RTÉ Television is a department of Ireland's state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann.The first channel to broadcast was Telefís Éireann which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961...

, RTÉ Radio
RTÉ Radio
RTÉ Radio is a department of Irish national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Radio broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels....

, RTÉ News and Current Affairs, RTÉ Network Limited
RTÉ Network Limited
RTÉ Transmission Network Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Raidió Teilifís Éireann which runs Ireland's principal terrestrial television and radio broadcast signal transmission networks. They operate 10 main sites, and over 100 smaller relays and transposers, which carry either television,...

, RTÉ Publishing and RTÉ Performing Groups
RTÉ Performing Groups
RTÉ Performing Groups is a group of five classical ensembles, part of the Irish broadcaster RTÉ. All but the Vanbrugh Quartet are based in Dublin .- RTÉ Performing Groups :...

) together with Central Shared Services (People Payments, Procurement, Treasury, IT Infrastructure, Audience Research, Freedom of Information, and Property and Site Facilities) and a Group Headquarters. The RTÉ Irish language channel, TG4
TG4
TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....

, was operated as a subsidiary of RTÉ (Serbhisí Telefís na Gaeilge Teoranta) prior to its separation from RTÉ on April 1, 2007.

The RTÉ Board appoints the Director-General of RTÉ
Director-General of RTÉ
The Director-General of Raidió Teilifís Éireann is chief executive and editor in chief of RTÉ. The current Director-General is Noel Curran, and is the most senior person in the Public Service Broadcaster, Noel Curran replaced Cathal Goan in the role in February 2011.The RTÉ Board appoints the...

 who in effect fulfils the dual role of Chief Executive and of Editor in Chief. The Director-General heads the Executive Board of RTÉ, which comprises the company's top management and includes the Chief Financial Officer, the Director of Communications and the Managing Directors of the Television, Radio, and News divisions.

Radio

The first voice broadcast of 2RN
2RN
2RN was the first radio broadcasting station in the Irish Free State. It began broadcasting on 1 January 1926 and continued until 1933, when it was succeeded by Radio Athlone...

, the original radio callsign for Radio 1, took place on November 14, 1925 when Seamus Clandillon, the 2RN station director said, 'Seo Raidió 2RN, Baile Átha Cliath ag tástáil', Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

 for 'This is Radio 2RN, Dublin calling'. Regular Irish radio-broadcasting began on January 1, 1926. Unfortunately, most Irish people could not receive 2RN's (1.5 kilowatt) signal. When faced with numerous complaints from Cork regarding the writers' inability to tune to the signal, Clandillon remarked in The Irish Radio Review, a magazine dedicated to the service, that they did not know how to operate their sets. 6CK was established in Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

 in 1927; much of 6CK's output was simply a relay of the national service but it also had a significant input into the programmes of 2RN until it was closed down in the 1950s.

A high power (initially 60 kW) station was established in Athlone, in 1932, to coincide with the staging of the Eucharistic Congress. 2RN, 6CK and Athlone became known as "Radio Athlone" or, in Irish, "Raidio Áth Luain" and were receivable across virtually the entire country. Radio Athlone became known as "Radio Éireann" in 1938.

Radio Éireann tried to satisfy all tastes on a single channel (with very limited programming hours). However, this resulted in a rather conservative programming policy. It was barely tolerated by most Irish listeners, and usually trounced (particularly on the east coast and along the Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 border) by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 and later Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg (English)
Radio Luxembourg is a commercial broadcaster in many languages from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is nowadays known in most non-English languages as RTL ....

. This did not really change until Radio Éireann became free of direct government control in the 1960s.

Now, RTÉ has a nation-wide communications network with an increasing emphasis on regional news-gathering and input. Broadcasting on Radio 1 provides comprehensive coverage of news, current affairs, music, drama and variety features, agriculture, education, religion and sport, mostly in English but also some Irish. RTÉ 2fm
RTÉ 2fm
RTÉ 2fm, or 2FM as it is more commonly referred to, is Raidió Teilifís Éireann's second national radio station. It broadcasts popular music programming aimed at a young Irish audience.- History :...

 is a popular music and chat channel which commenced broadcasting as RTÉ Radio 2
RTÉ 2fm
RTÉ 2fm, or 2FM as it is more commonly referred to, is Raidió Teilifís Éireann's second national radio station. It broadcasts popular music programming aimed at a young Irish audience.- History :...

 on May 31, 1979, Brendan Balfe
Brendan Balfe
Brendan Balfe is an Irish radio personality, who has been on-air consistently for more than 40 years on RTÉ. Comedy has been a feature of many of Balfe's programmes...

 being the first voice to be heard on the station at midday, when he introduced the first presenter, Larry Gogan
Larry Gogan
Laurence 'Larry' Gogan is an Irish broadcaster working for Raidió Teilifís Éireann . He is a disc jockey on RTÉ 2fm. His show is The Golden Hour, during which Larry plays old favourites and classic songs from yesteryear. Gogan spun the first disc on Radio 2, Like Clockwork by The Boomtown Rats...

. RTÉ lyric fm
RTÉ lyric fm
RTÉ lyric fm is an Irish classical music radio station, owned by the public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. The station, which is based in Limerick, was launched in 1999 and is available on FM in Ireland, on satellite, on Sky Digital in Ireland and United Kingdom and via the...

 serves the interests of classical music and the arts, coming on air in May 1999, and replacing FM3 Classical Music, which had catered for the same target audience and time-shared with RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta , abbreviated RnaG, is the Irish-language radio service of the public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. The station is available on FM in Ireland and via satellite and on the Internet.- History :...

, an exclusively Irish language service, which first began broadcasting on Easter Sunday, April 2, 1972. Formerly RTÉ operated RTÉ Radio Cork (previously 'Cork 89FM' and 'RTÉ Cork Local Radio'), a local radio service in Cork, but this closed down in the early 2000s.

A slightly adapted version of Radio 1 is broadcast as RTÉ Europe on Sky and Hotbird; the main difference between this and the main FM feed is the inclusion of several programmes taken from RTÉ Radio na Gaeltachta.

DAB
Digital audio broadcasting
Digital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....

 test broadcasts of RTÉ's four stations began on January 1, 2006, along the east coast of Ireland, also carrying the private Today FM
Today FM
Radio Ireland Ltd, trading as 100-102 Today FM is an Irish commercial FM radio station which is available nationally. The station, which commenced broadcasting on Saint Patrick's Day in 1997, can be received nationally and carries a mix of music and talk...

 and World Radio Network
WRN Broadcast
WRN Broadcast, formerly known as WRN, is an international broadcast services company that works with television channels and radio broadcasters, media owners and brands enabling them to deliver content to target audiences worldwide....

, to which RTÉ is a contributing broadcaster. DAB was launched to the public in late 2006, and now contains eight RTÉ digital-only stations – RTÉ 2XM
RTÉ 2XM
RTÉ 2XM is a digital radio station of the Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann.-History:Initially the broadcaster placed the station on the digital terrestrial television trial service in late October 2007. Along with 5 other new digital stations, RTÉ Choice was launched on 1...

, RTÉ Chill
RTÉ Chill
RTÉ Chill is a digital radio station of the Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. It broadcasts mostly chillout and ambient music as well as other low-tempo genres and generally includes cutting edge artists such as Leftfield, The Orb, Sigur Rós and Juanita Molina...

, RTÉ Choice
RTÉ Choice
RTÉ Choice is a digital radio station of the Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann, made specifically for talk-radio.-History:...

, RTÉ Digital Radio News
RTÉ Digital Radio News
RTÉ Digital Radio News is a former digital radio station from the Irish state broadcaster, RTÉ. It began broadcasting on 30 May 2007, and was launched as part of an expansion of RTÉ's digital radio network, which now contains eight digital-only stations, as well as four terrestrial stations...

, RTÉ Gold
RTÉ Gold
RTÉ Gold is an Irish radio station broadcasting on DAB and Saorview Ireland's free to air DTT service. It can also be accessed on the internet via the RTÉ website. The station plays classic hits from top-selling artists spanning the decades from the 1950s to the 1980s...

, RTÉ Junior
RTÉ Junior
RTÉ Junior is a digital radio station of the Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. It plays children’s music, and is Ireland's first children's radio station. It broadcasts from 07:00 to 21:00, and time-shares its DAB slot with RTÉ Chill...

, RTÉ Pulse
RTÉ Pulse
RTÉ Pulse is an electronic dance music station from RTÉ, Ireland's national broadcaster. It broadcasts on the RTÉ DAB Multiplex and Saorview Ireland's free to air DTT service in Ireland. Online worldwide and on the Irish Cable system UPC/NTL channel 943. It plays a varied mix of dance music...

 and RTÉ Radio 1 Extra
RTÉ Radio 1 Extra
RTÉ Radio 1 Extra is an Irish radio station broadcasting RTÉ Radio 1. It plays sports, educational and religious opt-outs at certain times ....

 – as well as the four terrestrial services. RTÉ's radio stations are also carried on digital cable and satellite platforms in Ireland, as well as on digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...

, and RTÉ Radio 1 has been carried on shortwave in DRM
Digital Radio Mondiale
Digital Radio Mondiale is a set of digital audio broadcasting technologies designed to work over the bands currently used for AM broadcasting, particularly shortwave...

 during specific events, including the All Ireland
All Ireland
All-Ireland is an attributive which emphasises the island of Ireland. It contrasts with expressions such as the South or Northern Ireland which apply only to regions. Many sports are organised on an all-Ireland basis....

 finals.

A survey carried out by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs showed that demand for an Irish language radio station aimed at a younger audience than RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta , abbreviated RnaG, is the Irish-language radio service of the public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. The station is available on FM in Ireland and via satellite and on the Internet.- History :...

 was high. This means that RTÉ might have plans to launch such a radio station.

In August 2009, faced with falling audience listening figures, a media analyst advised that RTÉ has "alienated some of the audience it ought to be going after" and should "try to be more even-handed in its treatment of the issues of the day instead of pushing every PC cause going."

Television

In the Republic of Ireland, RTÉ One
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...

 and RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...

 are RTÉ's flagship channels. As digital television expands and as analogue television is being phased out by December 2012, RTÉ broadcasts several digital only television channels. These include RTÉ Two HD, RTÉ News Now
RTÉ News Now
RTÉ News Now is a 24-hour news television network in the Republic of Ireland operated byIrish public service broadcaster RTÉ. The channel launched as RTÉ News Now available exclusively online on June 12, 2008. The channel began broadcasting as a free-to-air channel on October 29, 2010 on...

, RTÉjr
RTÉjr
RTÉjr is a children's channel operated by Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ Television, which targets a demographic between 2 – 6 years of age. The channel launched as part of Saorview's line-up on May 26, 2011. The channel broadcasts daily between 06:00 to 19:00, sharing broadcasting space with...

 and RTÉ Aertel Digital
RTÉ Aertel
RTÉ Aertel is a teletext service broadcast on RTÉ One and RTÉ Two in the Republic of Ireland, and also available in its entirety on the Internet....

. RTÉ Television also offers two further services: RTÉ Live, where viewers can watch RTÉ as it broadcasts live on the internet, using programming from both RTÉ One and RTÉ Two and RTÉ Player
RTÉ player
RTÉ player is an on demand video service provided by RTÉ for programmes broadcast on RTÉ Television. RTÉ player is available in two formats; one for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and another format for international audiences...

 an on-demand video service. Both of these services are available on a national and international basis.
  • Timeline


1920s:
In terms of radio, Ireland was one of the first countries in Europe to embrace this medium of communication, but was a relative latecomer to television. Unlike its European counterparts, the Government of Ireland did not use the medium of television until the late 1960s. Countries such as the United Kingdom (1929), France (1935) and Italy (1954) embraced television long before Ireland. Prior to the launch of the Republic of Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ, television services were available though limited from Northern Ireland through BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland is the main public service broadcaster in Northern Ireland.The organisation is one of the three national regions of the BBC, together with BBC Scotland and BBC Wales. Based at Broadcasting House, Belfast, it provides television, radio, online and interactive television content...

 (1955) and UTV
UTV
UTV is a television channel based in the UK region of Northern Ireland. The channel is the Channel 3 or Independent Television licensee for Northern Ireland and is operated by UTV Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Media.- Terrestrial :* Analogue: Normally tuned to 3 * Freeview : 3...

 (1959) . The development of the Divis
Divis
Divis is a large mountain and area of sprawling moorland to the north-west of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The mountain is 478 m tall, making it the highest of the Belfast Hills...

 transmitter in Northern Ireland in July 1955 allowed overspill of these services into the Republic.

1950s:
In the late 1950s, a Television Committee was formed; their goal was to set up an Irish television service with as little financial support from the government. It initially recommended setting up a service along the lines of ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

, plus five mountain tops as transmission sites, which were also equipped for FM radio transmission. However, since Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...

 was somewhat wary of television, nothing more of consequence was done until Seán Lemass
Seán Lemass
Seán Francis Lemass was one of the most prominent Irish politicians of the 20th century. He served as Taoiseach from 1959 until 1966....

 succeeded him as Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...

 in 1959. A year later, Radio Éireann was converted from an arm of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs
Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (Ireland)
The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs was a senior post in the government of the Irish Free State and the Republic of Ireland from 1924 to 1984, when the post and the department was abolished....

 into a semi-state body
State-sponsored bodies of the Republic of Ireland
A State-Sponsored Body is the name given in Ireland to a state-owned enterprise , that is to say, a commercial business which is benficially owned, either completely or majority, by the Irish Government...

 and given responsibility for television. Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews
Eamonn Andrews, CBE , was an Irish television presenter based in the United Kingdom.-Life and career:...

 was appointed as the new chairman.

1960s:
Telefís Éireann began broadcasting at 19:00 on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...

, 1961. The channel was launched with opening address by the then President de Valera
President of Ireland
The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...

. There were other messages from Cardinal d'Alton and Lemass; following this, a live concert was broadcast from the Gresham Hotel in Dublin. The show, which was a countdown to the New Year, was hosted by Andrews, with appearances by Patrick O'Hagan, the Artane Boys' Band and Michael O'Hehir
Michael O'Hehir
Michael James Hehir was an Irish hurling, football and horse racing commentator and journalist. Between 1938 and 1985 his enthusiasm and a memorable turn of phrase endeared him to many...

. Television became an important force within Irish culture as it helped to explore topics often deemed controversial such as abortion, contraception and various other topics, were now being discussed in television studios. The development of entertainment show The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...

, which began in July 1962 and is still broadcasting today. Such programming helped to influence in the changing social structure of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. Telefís Éireann began to explore children's television at this point producing the ground breaking show Wanderly Wagon
Wanderly Wagon
Wanderly Wagon was an Irish children's television series which aired on RTÉ from Saturday 30 September 1967 until 1982. Wanderly Wagon followed human and puppet characters as they travelled around Ireland visiting interesting locations, rescuing Princesses and generally doing good...

 inspired a generation with characters like Judge and Mr Crow.

1970s:
In 1978, the Government of Ireland approved the launch of a second public service channel to be operated by RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...

. RTÉ2
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...

 (later rebranded as Network 2 in 1988 and renamed RTÉ Two in 2004) had a public service remit providing Irish language services, while also offering alternative services mainly programming from the US and UK.

1990s:
During the 1990s similar to other European broadcasters RTÉ began to expand its services to provide regional variations. RTÉ developed its only major studio complex outside Dublin in Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

. RTÉ Cork, opened in 1995 and became a huge success. It also became a large contributor to network output on both Radio One and RTÉ One. In 1996, an Irish language television service was launched TG4
TG4
TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....

 (previously Teilifís na Gaeilge) was launched from Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...

. While RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...

 provided Irish language services such as news bulletins (Nuacht) and the long-running documentary series Léargas.

2000s:
RTÉ Television began to expand is output through the development of digital television. RTÉ Television services became widely available in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 via terrestrial overspill or on cable (coverage and inclusion on cable systems varies). Since April 23, 2002, (April 18, 2005 in Northern Ireland) the channels have also been available via satellite on Sky Ireland In addition, some sports programmes are blocked to Northern Ireland viewers due to rights issues which conflict with the UK.

In January 2007, RTÉ announced plans to launch a channel, with the working title of RTÉ International
RTÉ International
RTÉ International is the working title of an international television service, to be created by the national broadcaster of Ireland, Raidió Teilifís Éireann , when economic conditions improve....

, which would offer programmes from RTÉ One and Two as well as TG4.

2010s:
On 26 May 2011, RTÉ television launched the public service Mux for digital terrestrial television known as Saorview
Saorview
Saorview is the national free-to-air digital terrestrial television service in Republic of Ireland.The service began operation on 29 October 2010 on a trial basis with full launch on 26 May 2011. By legislation it was required to be available to approximately 90% of the population by end of...

 and Saorsat
Saorsat
Saorsat is the proposed name for the free-to-air satellite service in the Republic of Ireland. The service is expected to launch in late 2011...

. RTÉ also launched RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...

 HD, RTÉjr
RTÉjr
RTÉjr is a children's channel operated by Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ Television, which targets a demographic between 2 – 6 years of age. The channel launched as part of Saorview's line-up on May 26, 2011. The channel broadcasts daily between 06:00 to 19:00, sharing broadcasting space with...

, RTÉ One
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...

+1 and RTÉ News Now
RTÉ News Now
RTÉ News Now is a 24-hour news television network in the Republic of Ireland operated byIrish public service broadcaster RTÉ. The channel launched as RTÉ News Now available exclusively online on June 12, 2008. The channel began broadcasting as a free-to-air channel on October 29, 2010 on...

 on Saorview on the same day. John Bowman wrote a history of RTÉ Television called Window and Mirror. RTÉ Television: 1961-2011, which was launched by launched by Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...

 Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny is an Irish Fine Gael politician, and has been the Taoiseach since 2011. He has led Fine Gael since 2002. He served as Minister for Tourism and Trade from 1994 to 1997. He is also a two-term Vice President of the European People's Party.Kenny has been a Teachta Dála for Mayo since...

 at the National Museum in Dublin on 23 November 2011.

News

RTÉ News and Current Affairs, or Nuacht agus Cúrsaí Reatha RTÉ in Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

, is a major division of Raidió Teilifís Éireann responsible for news programming on television, radio and online within Ireland. It is, by far, the largest and most popular news source in Ireland — with 77% of the Irish public regarding it as their main source of both Irish and international news. It broadcasts in both the Irish and English languages, as well as Irish Sign Language
Irish Sign Language
Irish Sign Language is the sign language of Ireland, used primarily in the Republic of Ireland. It is also used in Northern Ireland, though British Sign Language is also used. Irish Sign Language is more closely related to French Sign Language than to British Sign Language, which was first used...

.

RTÉ News and Current Affairs provides a range of national and international news and current affairs programming in Ireland. The organisation is also a source of commentary on current affairs. RTÉ News is based at the RTÉ Television Complex at Montrose in Donnybrook
Donnybrook, Dublin
Donnybrook is a district of Dublin, Ireland. It is situated on the southside of the city, in the Dublin 4 postal district, and is home to the Irish state broadcaster RTÉ. It was once part of the Pembroke Township...

, Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. However, the station also operates regional bureaux across Ireland and the world.

RTÉ News faces stiff competition from within Ireland and abroad. Within Ireland, TV3 News
TV3 Ireland
TV3 is a free-to-air commercial television network in the Republic of Ireland. Launched on 20 September 1998 it was Ireland's first commercial broadcaster. The channel is owned by TV3 Group a subsidiary of Doughty Hanson & Co.-The TV3 Group:...

, provide competition in the television sector, as do BBC Newsline
BBC Newsline
BBC Newsline is the BBC's regional television news service for Northern Ireland. The programme is broadcast on BBC One from BBC Northern Ireland's headquarters in Broadcasting House, Ormeau Avenue, Belfast....

 and UTV Live
UTV Live
UTV Live is the name of the regional news service broadcast on UTV, the ITV region in Northern Ireland. The first edition of the programme was transmitted on Monday 4 January 1993.-Weekday bulletins:*13:55...

 from Northern Ireland. UTV Radio
UTV Radio
UTV Radio is a UK media company, and owner of several radio stations in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. It is a growing branch of UTV Media....

 and Communicorp
Communicorp
Communicorp is an Irish media holding company, wholly owned by Denis O'Brien.-Background:Communicorp Group Ltd was formed by Denis O'Brien in 1989. The Group’s radio operations launched in Ireland in the same year and followed with stations in the Czech Republic in 1992...

 provide alternative news services in the radio sector. As Ireland is a predominantly English-speaking nation, and cable and satellite television penetration is relatively large, international news channels (CNBC Europe
CNBC Europe
CNBC Europe is a business and financial news television channel, the pan-European sister station of CNBC. The network is owned and operated by NBC Universal and headquartered in London, where it shares the Adrian Smith-designed 10 Fleet Place building with Dow Jones...

, CNN International
CNN International
CNN International is an international English language television network that carries news, current affairs, politics, opinions, and business programming worldwide. CNN is one of the world's largest news organizations. It is owned by Time Warner, and is affiliated with CNN, which is mainly...

, EuroNews
EuroNews
Euronews is an international multilingual news television channel.It covers world news from what it claims to be a 'European' perspective.Criticisms are that the perspective is in fact that of the European Commission - a major and growing funder of Euronews....

, France 24
France 24
France 24 is an international news and current affairs television channel. The service is aimed at the overseas market, similar to BBC World News, DW-TV, NHK World and RT, and broadcast through satellite and cable operators throughout the world. During 2010 the channel started broadcasting through...

, Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...

, etc.) and Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

's BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...

 and ITN (ITV News
ITV News
ITV News is the branding of news programmes on the British television network ITV. Since 1955, ITV's news bulletins have been produced by Independent Television News . The channel's news coverage has won awards from the Royal Television Society, Emmy Awards and BAFTAs. Between 2004 and 2008, the...

, Channel 4 News
Channel 4 News
Channel 4 News is the news division of British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since the broadcaster's launch in 1982.-Channel 4 News:...

) also create competition for viewership with RTÉ in terms of television news coverage of international events.

RTÉ News and Current Affairs produces over 1,000 hours of television programming and 2,000 hours of radio programming a year.

In the 1970s, Sinn Féin the Workers Party, (the political wing of the Official IRA), were said to have progressively infiltrated RTÉ's Current Affairs Department, through the Ned Stapleton Cumman, which was organised by Eoghan Harris
Eoghan Harris
Eoghan Harris is an Irish journalist, fiction writer, director, columnist and politician. He currently writes for the Sunday Independent. He was a member of Seanad Éireann from 2007–11, having been nominated by the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern....

.

RTÉ’s gaffe in January 2009 over the need for IMF intervention in the Republic was picked up by news wires. Bloomberg noted how German stocks fell sharply, while Reuters reported that the euro dipped by a cent against the dollar before it stabilised following a strong denial.

RTÉ’s producers and researchers were accused by journalist Kevin Myers
Kevin Myers
Kevin Myers is an Irish journalist and writer. He writes for the Irish Independent and is a former contributor to The Irish Times, where he wrote the "An Irishman's Diary" opinion column several times weekly...

 of imposing a liberal agenda, firstly on one another, and later on the airwaves, but without consciously intending to do so. RTÉ News has also been described by him as behaving like a press officer for public sector unions.

Sport

RTÉ is a major broadcaster of sports programming in Ireland. Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...

, hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...

, soccer and rugby are all broadcast live on radio and television and increasingly online. The broadcaster also transmits live golf, boxing, athletics, horse-racing and show-jumping and other minority sports, usually when there is a significant Irish participant(s), or the event is in Ireland. The broadcaster has secured many events, free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...

 which might otherwise become pay-per-view.

Internet

The URL  is the brand name and home of RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...

's online activities. The site began publishing on May 26, 1996. It operates on an entirely commercial basis, receiving none of the licence fee which funds much of RTÉ's activity. The site is funded by advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...

 and section sponsorship. , it is among the top 5000 most visited websites globally, by Alexa
Alexa Internet
Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based subsidiary company of Amazon.com that is known for its toolbar and Web site. Once installed, the toolbar collects data on browsing behavior which is transmitted to the Web site where it is stored and analyzed and is the basis for the company's Web traffic...

 rankings and among the top 20 sites in Ireland, with certified impressions of almost 40 million per month and more than 1.5 million unique users. The most recent revamp of the website took place on January 30, 2007.

In recent years RTÉ has been expanding its web broadcasting capabilities. With improved access to online material and better methods of delivery there is now a comprehensive range of services online. RTÉ streams all of its radio stations online, including digital, and there is a web only TV channel, RTÉ News Now
RTÉ News Now
RTÉ News Now is a 24-hour news television network in the Republic of Ireland operated byIrish public service broadcaster RTÉ. The channel launched as RTÉ News Now available exclusively online on June 12, 2008. The channel began broadcasting as a free-to-air channel on October 29, 2010 on...

 as well as the availability to watch live programmes, subject to copyright.

RTÉ player

On Tuesday, April 21, 2009 RTÉ launched its on-demand service the RTÉ player
RTÉ player
RTÉ player is an on demand video service provided by RTÉ for programmes broadcast on RTÉ Television. RTÉ player is available in two formats; one for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and another format for international audiences...

. The service allows broadband users in the Republic of Ireland to view some of RTÉ's top rated homegrown (i.e. RTE News
RTÉ News
RTÉ News and Current Affairs , is a major division of Raidió Teilifís Éireann responsible for news programming on television, radio and online within the Republic of Ireland. It is, by far, the largest and most popular news source in Ireland - with 77% of the Irish public regarding it as their main...

, The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...

) and international (i.e. Home and Away
Home and Away
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...

, Greys Anatomy)TV series for free up to 21 days after its initial broadcast. A cut down version is available outside Ireland.

Publishing

RTÉ Publishing has four main constituent parts: Print Publishing, E-Publishing (both internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

 & teletext
Teletext
Teletext is a television information retrieval service developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. It offers a range of text-based information, typically including national, international and sporting news, weather and TV schedules...

), Commercial Telecoms & Digital Consumer Technology Incubation. The division publishes the RTÉ Guide and sells DVDs and VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

 videos of RTÉ Television programmes, and audio tapes
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...

 and compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

s of RTÉ radio programmes.
It operates all of RTÉ's many websites—branded as , and providing online news, sport, and entertainment services. Live streams of all of RTÉ's national radio networks are available online. In addition RTÉ Publishing operates a teletext
Teletext
Teletext is a television information retrieval service developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. It offers a range of text-based information, typically including national, international and sporting news, weather and TV schedules...

 service on both RTÉ One and RTÉ Two, called RTÉ Aertel, which has news, sport, and programme support information. Its commercial telecoms business provides both SMS
Short message service
Short Message Service is a text messaging service component of phone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices...

 and IVR telecoms services to all of RTÉ's broadcast services and channels.
  • Publishing
    • RTÉ Guide
    • RTÉ Aertel

Performing Groups

RTÉ Performing Groups supports two full-time orchestras—the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra—as well as the RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet, RTÉ Philharmonic Choir, and RTÉ Cór na nÓg. These groups perform regularly in the National Concert Hall
National Concert Hall
The National Concert Hall is a concert hall located on Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin, Ireland, close to St. Stephen's Green, and is the principal national venue for classical music concerts in Ireland....

 and The Helix
The Helix
The Helix is a building on the Dublin City University campus between Glasnevinand Whitehall on Dublin's Northside, originally planned to be called the Aula Maxima. It was completed in 2002, and it is described as a "performance space" and holds concerts, university conferring ceremonies and...

 in Dublin. The five groups present over 250 events annually, including live performances and work in education. The RTÉ NSO and the RTÉ CO employ a total of 134 professional musicians. The RTÉ Philharmonic Choir and the children's choir RTÉ Cór na nÓg are for singers at an amateur level. Currently, approximately 200 adults and children are involved in the choirs.
  • Performing Groups
    • RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
      RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
      The RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra is the concert music orchestra of Raidió Teilifís Éireann...

    • RTÉ Concert Orchestra
      RTÉ Concert Orchestra
      The RTÉ Concert Orchestra is one of the two full time professional orchestras in Ireland that are part of RTÉ, the national broadcasting station. Since its formation as the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra in 1948, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, has grown from a small studio-based recording group to...

    • RTÉ Philharmonic Choir
      RTÉ Philharmonic Choir
      The RTÉ Philharmonic Choir is an Irish choir, part of Irish broadcaster RTÉ. The current chorus master is Mark Duley. It is part of RTÉ Performing Groups.- RTÉ Philharmonic Choir :...

    • RTÉ Cór na nÓg
      RTÉ Cór na nÓg
      RTÉ Cór na nÓg is an Irish children's choir. In May 2004 Máire Mannion took up the position of choral director. The choir is part of RTÉ Performing Groups.- History :...

    • RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet
      RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet
      RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet, also known as the RTÉ String Quartet, is the resident string quartet to Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland's national broadcasting service, and Artists in residence to University College Cork and founders of the internationally acclaimed West Cork Chamber Music Festival...


Infrastructure

RTÉ Network Limited
RTÉ Network Limited
RTÉ Transmission Network Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Raidió Teilifís Éireann which runs Ireland's principal terrestrial television and radio broadcast signal transmission networks. They operate 10 main sites, and over 100 smaller relays and transposers, which carry either television,...

(branded as RTÉNL) is operated through a wholly owned subsidiary company, RTÉ Network Transmission Limited, and provides transmission services for all of RTÉ's own channels and also for competing stations such as TV3 Ireland and Today FM
Today FM
Radio Ireland Ltd, trading as 100-102 Today FM is an Irish commercial FM radio station which is available nationally. The station, which commenced broadcasting on Saint Patrick's Day in 1997, can be received nationally and carries a mix of music and talk...

.

Saorview

Saorview, founded by RTÉ NL, is the name for the Irish FTA DTT. The service was launced as a trial service on October 31, 2010 to 90% of the population and it was officially launched on 26 May 2011. Set-top boxes for the service are available By legislation it must be available nationwide by December 2011. The service is free although a MPEG-4 DVB-T box and a UHF aerial will be needed although some newer TV sets have MPEG-4 DVB-T decoders built into the TV set which do not need a separate box. RTÉ NL can provide for commercial DTT capacity on its network for any pay TV service that can agree terms with it and the BAI. However that is likely until 2013 according to the BAI following on from a de-briefing exercise the BAI held with the 3 consortia involved in the 2008 failed license process. The BAI said the Authority now considers that it will not be feasible to introduce commercial DTT as originally intended until after Analogue Switch Off (ASO) at the earliest. The position will be reviewed towards the end of 2011 and the Authority may seek expressions of interest in the provision of commercial DTT at that point. A competition could potentially be held during 2012 with a view to commercial DTT being operational in 2013. It continued it is the considered view of the Authority that as part of the preparation for the successful launch of commercial DTT in the future, legislative change will be necessary to enable the Authority to have formal relationships with the applicants, as obtains at present, and with RTÉNL.

The analogue switch-off in Ireland is scheduled for the end of 2012 which means that the Saorview service must be operational to an equivalent coverage area as analogue terrestrial television as required by the Broadcasting Act 2009.

Saorsat

Saorsat is the proposed name for the free-to-air digital satellite television service in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 is expected that RTÉ will use a new satellite service to broadcast to homes in more remote areas of the Republic of Ireland with the possibility of broadband provision by June 2011. On July 14, 2010 RTÉ NL outlined detailed plans for the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) infrastructure project and Digital Satellite Television (DST) using Ka narrowband which will see the shut- down of the existing analogue system and launch of a domestic only satellite service for the first time since establishment of RTÉ covering the area not possible due to terrain issues by DTT.

Future of RTÉ

  • In 2004, RTÉ and the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources agreed that in future, RTÉ would operate under a Public Service Broadcasting Charter.


  • On June 29, 2005 the Minister appointed the members of a new RTÉ Authority, replacing the previous one appointed in June 2000. Fintan Drury, chairman of Platinum sports management, and also chairman of Paddy Power
    Paddy Power
    Paddy Power is Ireland’s largest bookmaker. Offline it conducts business through a chain of licensed betting offices and by operating Ireland's largest telephone betting service. Online it offers sports betting, online poker, online bingo, online casino games and spread betting...

     plc, was appointed chairman of RTÉ. The other members of the Authority are Maria Killian, Patricia King, Ian Malcolm, Patrick Marron, Una Ní Chonaire, Emer Finnan, Stephen O'Byrnes and Joe O'Brien. The new Authority will hold office for not more than three years.
  • On January 11, 2006, Fintan Drury resigned as chairman of RTÉ, citing a potential conflict of interest in his role as an advisor to the organisers of the Ryder Cup
    Ryder Cup
    The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...

     golf
    Golf
    Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

     tournament and as chairman of a broadcaster involved in a row over broadcasting rights. This occurred after government
    Irish Government
    The Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...

     proposals to add the tournament to the list of sports events which must be broadcast on free-to-air terrestrial television
    Terrestrial television
    Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...

    , to which British Sky Broadcasting
    British Sky Broadcasting
    British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....

    , the rights holders, were objecting.
  • On February 22, 2006, Mary Finan was appointed Chairperson of the RTÉ Authority.
  • In September 2006, the Government published on the internet the proposed text of the Broadcasting Bill 2006. This proposes that RTÉ and TG4 will become separate companies limited by guarantee
    Company limited by guarantee
    In British and Irish company law, a private company limited by guarantee is an alternative type of corporation used primarily for non-profit organisations that require legal personality. A guarantee company does not usually have a share capital or shareholders, but instead has members who act as...

    , with the Minister as sole member of both companies (CLGs do not have shareholders). RTÉ will now be legally obliged to agree a charter every five years and publish a statement of commitments every year, and be under the jurisdiction of the proposed Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
    Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
    The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland was established on 1 October 2009 effectively replacing the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland ....

    . The bill was delayed, but was finally introduced into Dail Éireann on April 14, 2008. The Broadcasting Act 2009 retains RTÉ as a statutory corporation, but renamed the RTÉ Authority as the RTÉ Board and made changes to the way it is appointed. It also renamed the corporation Raidió Teilifís Éireann. with the Irish Times noting that this thereby fixed a "spelling error that lasted 40 years".
  • In the meantime, during 2007 the Broadcasting (Amendment) Act 2007 was passed by the Oireachtas, awarding RTÉ control of one multiplex for digital terrestrial television
    Digital terrestrial television
    Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...

     and giving it responsibilities in relation to broadcasting outside the state. In line with this, RTÉ and the government were currently in discussions with regard to a new channel proposed for to launch outside the Republic, which initially had the working titles of Diaspora TV, and later RTÉ International
    RTÉ International
    RTÉ International is the working title of an international television service, to be created by the national broadcaster of Ireland, Raidió Teilifís Éireann , when economic conditions improve....

    .
  • In April 2007 TG4
    TG4
    TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....

     became an independent statutory corporation, having previously been a wholly owned subsidiary of RTÉ since its inception. RTÉ continues to contribute programmes to the channel, including Nuacht TG4
    Nuacht TG4
    Nuacht TG4 is a daily half-hour Irish language TV news bulletin produced by RTÉ News and Current Affairs for the Irish language Television station TG4. The programme is broadcast weekday evenings at 19:00, live from the studios of TG4 in Baile na hAbhann, County Galway...

    .
  • Since July 2007 RTÉ has been participating in a HD trial in Dublin. It shows programmes such as Planet Earth
    Planet Earth (TV series)
    Planet Earth is a 2006 television series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. Five years in the making, it was the most expensive nature documentary series ever commissioned by the BBC, and also the first to be filmed in high definition...

     and Gaelic Athletic Association
    Gaelic Athletic Association
    The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...

     matches. RTÉ have recently announced it is planning to launch a further two television channels; one general entertainment channel - RTÉ Three
    RTÉ Three
    RTÉ Three was a proposed channel by RTÉ Television.It was the working title of a proposed general entertainment channel. It was initially proposed that the channel would air a variety of programming not currently being shown on RTÉ One and RTÉ Two as well as having access to the RTÉ archives, and...

    (working name) - and a timeshift service for RTÉ One
    RTÉ One
    RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...

     - RTÉ One +1 (working name).
  • On February 24, 2009 the Minister for Communications, Energy, and Natural Resources, appointed the members of a new RTÉ Authority, replacing the previous one appointed in June 2006.
  • Tom Savage
    Tom Savage (Irish media figure)
    Tom Savage is chairman of the RTÉ Board, which oversees Ireland's state broadcaster, and chairman of Irish media consultancy group The Communications Clinic.-Early Years:...

    , Current Chairman of the Communications Clinic was appointed chairman of RTÉ. The other members of the Authority were Patricia Quinn, Karlin Lillington, Fergus Armstrong, Alan Gilsenan
    Alan Gilsenan
    Alan Gilsenan, Irish writer, director and film-maker.A graduate of Trinity College, Dublin - he won First Class Honours in Modern English and Sociology - Gilsenan received the inaugural A.J. Leventhal Scholarship...

    , Seán O’Sullivan, Emer Finnan. Cathal Goan then Director General, RTÉ as an ex-officio member of the Authority.
  • The new Authority held office for not more than 6 months, due to changes planned under the Broadcasting Act 2009 which became law on July 12, 2009, dissolving the authority, and replacing it with an RTÉ Board. Under Section 179 (3) of the Act, any person who was a member of the Authority when the Act was signed into law continues as a member of the Board until the end of their term of office on August 24, 2009.
  • Unlike the RTÉ Authority, the RTÉ Board has not the self-regulatory function over RTÉ, as this was transferred to a newly appointed Broadcasting Authority of Ireland that replaces the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland regulating commercial TV and radio. This helps assuage any concerns of the potential for bias that could be perceived under previous self-regulation by having a single regulator of public service and commercial Irish broadasters into the future.
  • On Monday September 29, 2009 RTÉ revealed a proposal for the regeneration of its existing building which will cost €350 million. If approved, the project would see the gradual replacement over a 10- to 15-year period of most of the current 1960s and 1970s buildings on the Donnybrook site. The new building would accommodate the switch over to high-definition, additional channels and new studios. RTÉ has since received planning consent from Dublin City Council for an application for the redevelopment of the station's Donnybrook site.The proposal for redevelopment of the site was accepted by local councillors last November 2009.The next stage of the planning process involves all parties having an opportunity to lodge appeals with An Bord Pleanála over the coming four weeks (by May 2010).The proposal would also involve building a new entrance onto the N11 Stillorgan dual carriageway.
  • Noel Curran
    Noel Curran
    Noel Curran is a radio and television producer and current Director-General of RTÉ. He joined Raidió Teilifís Éireann as a reporter in 1992 after a period working as a business journalist for Business & Finance magazine. He later produced both Kenny Live and The Late Late Show...

     was appointed Director-General of RTÉ
    Director-General of RTÉ
    The Director-General of Raidió Teilifís Éireann is chief executive and editor in chief of RTÉ. The current Director-General is Noel Curran, and is the most senior person in the Public Service Broadcaster, Noel Curran replaced Cathal Goan in the role in February 2011.The RTÉ Board appoints the...

     from February 1, 2011 on November 9, 2010 for 5 years, replacing Cathal Goan
    Cathal Goan
    Cathal Goan is a radio and television producer. He played a main role in the launch of TG4. He was appointed Director-General of RTÉ in 2003, announcing his departure in 2010....

     who had decided not to seek an extension to the seven year term which ended at end of January 2011.

Finances

  • On June 1, 2009 the Sunday Independent
    Sunday Independent
    The Sunday Independent is a broadsheet Sunday newspaper published in Ireland by Independent News and Media plc. The newspaper is edited by Aengus Fanning, and is the biggest selling Irish Sunday newspaper by a large margin ; average circulation of 291,323 between June 2004 and January 2005,...

    reported that that RTÉ was on the brink of bankruptcy
    Bankruptcy
    Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

    . Such reports are denied by RTÉ, though the organisation acknowledges how under the current financial structure there is "serious financial difficulty" and a review of its financial procedures is underway and to be completed by 2010. On June 11, 2009 the Director General of RTÉ Cathal Goan
    Cathal Goan
    Cathal Goan is a radio and television producer. He played a main role in the launch of TG4. He was appointed Director-General of RTÉ in 2003, announcing his departure in 2010....

     reported to the Oireachtas
    Oireachtas
    The Oireachtas , sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the "national parliament" or legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:*The President of Ireland*The two Houses of the Oireachtas :**Dáil Éireann...

     that RTÉ was not bankrupt and that it would break even by year end
  • On July 3, 2009, the RTÉ 2008 Annual Report was published. The organisation broke even
    Break-even
    Break-even is a point where any difference between plus or minus or equivalent changes side.-In economics:A technique for which identifying the point where the total revenue is just sufficient to cover the total cost...

     in 2008.

Controversies involving RTÉ

The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...

has been involved in a number of controversies since first being broadcast on TV in July 1962, particularly the "Bishop and the Nightie Affair" in 1966 and a 1985 interview with a pair of lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...

 former nuns which led to protesters picketing the studio with hymns and rosary beads after a High Court case during which there were calls for the chat show to be outlawed over fears it would "greatly undermine Christian moral values" and "the respect of the general public for nuns".

The first sex scandal on Irish TV suroounded a sketch-drawing advert for Bri-Nylon underwear, involving a "lewd and lascivious" cartoon of Anthony and Cleopatra.

Wesley Burroughs received a dresing down from RTÉ authorities after it became apparent Maggie Riordan was becoming increasingly more pregnant looking every week on The Riordans
The Riordans
The Riordans was the second Irish soap opera made by Raidio Telefís Éireann . It ran from 1965 to 1979 and was set in the fictional townland of Leestown in County Kilkenny...

, an RTÉ soap opera he wrote for. Maggie Riordan was an unmarried woman. Burroughs was forced to consult medical texts to provide Maggie with an alternative illness.

The TV drama series The Spike
The Spike (TV series)
The Spike was a controversial Irish drama television series, broadcast by Raidió Teilifís Éireann in 1978. The ten-part series was set in a secondary school. The script was written by Patrick Gilligan who was a vocational school teacher.-Reviews:...

, broadcast on RTÉ in 1978, was involved in a sex scandal.

In 1986, Mandy Smith
Mandy Smith
Mandy Smith is an English dance-pop singer, former model and aspiring counsellor.-Early life:In 1983, at age 13 she started dating 47-year-old The Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, with the consent of her mother...

 was to be interviewed on TV's Saturday Live until RTÉ decided she should be downgraded to being a mere member of the audience. She was axed entirely when her manager disagreed, with RTÉ saying she was "not important enough" and that she might "give a bad example to young teenage girls". The story appeared in the international media.

RTÉ apologised to the then Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...

 for its part in the Brian Cowen nude portraits controversy
Brian Cowen nude portraits controversy
Two oil paintings depicting Brian Cowen, then-Taoiseach of Ireland, in the nude, were briefly displayed in Dublin art galleries in March 2009 as an act of guerilla art...

 in 2009. Future Taoiseach Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny is an Irish Fine Gael politician, and has been the Taoiseach since 2011. He has led Fine Gael since 2002. He served as Minister for Tourism and Trade from 1994 to 1997. He is also a two-term Vice President of the European People's Party.Kenny has been a Teachta Dála for Mayo since...

 and Charles Flanagan
Charles Flanagan
Charles "Charlie" Flanagan is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He is currently a Teachta Dála for the Laois–Offaly constituency....

 called RTÉ's backtracking a restriction on freedom of expression
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...

, and Liz McManus
Liz McManus
Elizabeth "Liz" McManus is a former Irish politician. She served as a Teachta Dála for the Wicklow constituency from 1992 to 2011.-Personal life:...

 of the Labour Party
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...

 criticised RTÉ for "bow[ing] to political pressure".

The death of Gerry Ryan
Death of Gerry Ryan
The sudden death of RTÉ broadcaster Gerry Ryan occurred on 30 April 2010. He was 53. Ryan had been presenting The Gerry Ryan Show since 1988 and at the time of his death had the largest audience on RTÉ 2fm...

 led to controversy for RTÉ when it emerged that traces of cocaine were the "likely trigger" of the star's sudden death on 30 April 2010. Drugs minister Pat Carey
Pat Carey
Pat Carey is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála for the Dublin North West constituency from 1997 to 2011. He served as the Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs from 2010–11, and also as Government Chief Whip from 2008–10.-Early and private life:Carey...

 said he was "a bit taken aback, first of all, by the whole attitude of RTÉ over the last while" [concerning the circumstances of Ryan's death] and, comparing Ryan's cocaine use to the 2007 death of model Katy French
Katy French
Katy Ellen French was an Irish socialite, model, writer, television personality and charity worker. According to the BBC, "in the space of less than two years, she had become one of Ireland's best-known models and socialites." She collapsed at a friend's house on 2 December 2007 and died on 6...

, said the media were "very judgmental" when French died but had now "come home to roost in their own case".

RTÉ broadcast a controversial nine-minute radio interview with Taoiseach Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen
Brian Cowen is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 7 May 2008 to 9 March 2011. He was head of a coalition government led by Fianna Fáil which until 23 January 2011 had the support of the Green Party and independent TDs.Cowen was also leader of Fianna Fáil from 7 May...

 from a Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...

 think-in in Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...

; the interview led to increased pressure for Cowen to resign in the days that followed after it was thought he had been drunk on the radio.

RTÉ was forced to stop a "share deal" scheme it had offered advertisers when TV3 complained to the Competition Authority.

RTÉ was sued for defamation in 2011 after making false allegations about a priest. On 23 May that year RTÉ aired a programme called Mission to Prey
Mission to Prey
"Mission to Prey" is the title of an episode of the RTÉ programme Prime Time Investigates broadcast in May 2011. It was presented by RTÉ's Aoife Kavanagh....

, which falsely claimed that the priest had raped a woman and fathered her child while working as a missionary in Kenya. This was not true and RTÉ has apologised on a number of occasions since. The priest, based in Galway but originally from Longford, said he had been "living a nightmare" after the broadcaster made the allegations. The issue was serious enough to be discussed in both houses of the Oireachtas
Oireachtas
The Oireachtas , sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the "national parliament" or legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:*The President of Ireland*The two Houses of the Oireachtas :**Dáil Éireann...

.

Further reading

  • Jack Dowling, Leila Doolin, Bob Quinn, Sit Down and Be Counted: the cultural evolution of a television station, Wellington Publishers Ltd., Dublin, 1969.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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